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The Soul Armor
The Soul Armor is a Raid Event scheduled to start on July 1, 2018 at 8:00 PM (PST) and end on July 7, 2018 at 8:00 PM (PST). It is the fifty fifth episode of the Dark Stigma story and twenty eighth in the Malice Canon storyline. NOTE: The start of the event was delayed due to maintenance. Half-time Reward Calculation Period is at July 3, 2018 from 8:00 PM to 8:59 PM (PST). __TOC__ Feature Changes 1%, 3%, 5% and 10% Clover Princess UR Ticket as Individual Ranking Reward down to rank 1,200. Raid Bosses Skill Cards * Disentangler Saoirse (UR) Anti-Raid Boss Skill Card, obtained from the Oath of Survival Card Pack * Kaschwad Heroine Inel (UR) Anti-Hidden Raid Boss Skill Card, obtained from the Oath of Survival Card Pack * Sword-Bearing Salvador (UR) Anti-Secret Raid Boss Skill Card, obtained from the Oath of Survival Card Pack * Epic Progeny Agamette (UR) Special Evolution Card, Skill works against all Raid Bosses of the event, obtained from the Master of Fate Card Pack Prologue In a dilapidated house on the edge of the capital city, a man sat bound to a chair. However, the twisted grin he wore implied his captors were the ones who were truly restricted. "And here I assumed you'd be more sympathetic. You might not consider yourself a revolutionary like myself, but we're both rebelling against a greater power. That's why some call you a murderer and others call you a Hero." The man's name was Valdos. He was a young minister of Kashwado and a close confidant of Queen Agamette until his true intentions were laid bare. The kingdom had been plunged into unprecedented turmoil by his hand under the claim of bringing about progress. "As a matter of fact, those labels all describe the same thing -- someone who uses a sword to cut away outdated tradition and forge a new era. If I was to lead Kashwado to greater heights, there was no other way." "Don't take anything he says seriously, Hero." Saoirse cut short his reasoning. She was a genius inventor from the factory city of Ammatz and one of your allies in the fight against the empire. It had been her who captured Valdos and sent for you to help with the interrogation. "All I want to hear out of you is how to undo the Soul Armor's curse, and it better be quick." Saoirse's cold command only prompted a glare from Valdos. You knew she was not gifted with a silver tongue, but the irritation she left in falling for his scheme had made her even more terse. It was true there was no time, however. A glance outside showed not an idyllic cityscape, but crumbling buildings and upheaved roads. It was as if an army had demolished everything, yet there was but a single attacker. She was Lazuul, Kashwado's greatest champion. She had succumbed to illness ten years ago, but her legacy for unwavering loyalty to crown and country lived on. Rarely a day passed when someone did not visit her grave to pray for peace. However, in an ironic twist of fate, she was now bringing Kashwado to its knees. Her spirit had been summoned into the world of the living only to be wrapped in cursed armor that sent her on a course of destruction. Her former allies and compatriots fought back their misgivings to end her rampage. The queen had enlisted both the aid of Lazuul's old apprentice along with you and Salvador. However, the cursed Soul Armor had originally been wrought by an ancient metalworker known as Pyle. She used the enigmatic Lost Technique to create it, giving it defensive power that matched its rarity. This meant Lazuul would not be defeated easily even as the Kashwadan forces grew more desperate. Laska, who used her clairvoyance to foresee the crisis, had warned you, but the urgency of the situation was not fully realized until witnessing it for yourself. And the instigator was none other than Valdos. His noble intentions gradually twisted, unbeknownst to even himself. He came to regard the peace built by Agamette and her ancestors as stagnation and wanted Kashwado to become a world power. To that end, he plotted to raze everything to the ground and start anew. Naturally, the empire had also taken notice. They had dispatched Lightholders to aid the revived Lazuul and to ascertain the military worth of the Soul Armor. It was highly likely this bolstered Valdos' determination to succeed, for not only would he reign over a powerful country but also earn the backing of the unquestioned overseer of the world. Indeed, the mad rebel with eyes of unconcealed evil appeared very much at ease despite being constricted. "You think you can force that out of me, woman? Big words from someone so easily distracted by a book." His nonsensical taunt nonetheless touched a nerve, and Saoirse gritted her teeth. "Yes, I let myself get carried away, but that's why I'm taking responsibility by doing whatever I can to stop Lazuul!" The book he mentioned was authored by Pyle that described her Lost Technique. She was of such skill that she could create weapons and armor simply by imagining the design and forging it not with hammers, but magic. This resulted in gleaming steel arms fit for the gods. Everyone who so much as aspired to become a smith knew about her. Unfortunately, as she took no apprentices, that book contained the only record of her Lost Technique and required enormous intellect to decipher it. That very book had been brought to Saoirse by a man claiming to be an ally. He informed her that if she could read the book's contents, it could help her in creating anti-imperial weaponry. She was naturally able to comprehend it, but became so absorbed in study that she did not notice the disappearance of some of the notebooks she had compiled... Of course, it was all Valdos' doing. He had shared his grand designs with a witch known as Azami, the original possessor of the book. Since she was unable to read its contents, they plotted to have the famed inventor digest it instead. After reading the stolen notes, Azami was able to gain a fuller understanding of Pyle's creations and work around the hex-proof properties of the Soul Armor. An insidious curse that would warp the mind of whoever wore it was instilled into it, and it was placed over the body of Lazuul. Saoirse was unaware of this scheme when Pyle's book was first presented with her, but once she realized her notes were missing she soon suspected the man and started investigating. This led her to Kashwado where she gained a complete grasp of the situation, captured Valdos, then called you to join her. "Tell us how to remove the armor. Azami should have mentioned that much." "Removing the armor won't have any effect. All the curse does is cause whoever puts it on to see illusions. Lazuul doesn't understand what she's doing, because at this very moment, she's envisioning a battle against gruesome monsters that are invading her beloved home." He was using Lazuul's patriotic spirit against the very country she swore to protect. The thought alone struck fear into your heart, for it meant persuasion was all but impossible. "Are we done here? I hope so, because I really must be going. Azami's finally secured the location I asked her to, so I can't spare anymore time." The meaning of Valdos' unusual words soon became clear when a magic circle appeared around his chair in a blinding flash of light. It was an escape spell. "Farewell, Hero. You can thank me for showing you what actual justice looks like in the afterlife. History will side with me, after all..." Both he and the chair started to fade away. You quickly slashed out with your sword, but it passed through thin air. All trace of him disappeared, leaving only silence. "History'll side with him? Oh no..." After a moment's thought, Saoirse explained. "This isn't good. He's going back to the royal mausoleum! There, he'll revive the spirits of the past kings and champions of Kashwado and turn them against it, just like what he did with Lazuul! We've got to rejoin with the others and go after him, Hero!" ...... The chaos worsened, and the crisis grew ever more dire. However, you had no choice but to fight. If the Soul Armor and its effects could not be broken, it was possible that Valdos's warped version of justice could supplant true righteousness and create a dark future for the empire. For that reason alone, you could not allow him to prevail. Epilogue "Curses, they beat us to it!" Salvador groaned in consternation. You finally reached the royal mausoleum only to be greeted by purple miasma seeping from the gaps of the closed entryway. It appeared Valdos was executing his sinister plan, but it was too soon to give up hope. Knowing it would not be long until Lazuul caught up, you boldly threw open the doors. When you did, a wall of miasma billowed out with the echoes of ominous chanting. Valdos was standing in the center of the main chamber, surrounded by the caskets of past legends and holding an armful of Pyle's armor. Azami was standing beside him, casting her cursed sorcery over the entire structure. Everything her smoke touched began to vibrate as if hungering. Eventually, it took hold of the armor in Valdos' grasp and they glowed in a sinister violet. "Cease this at once and begone from here!" Valdos' defiant eyes proved Agamette's admonition was in vain. Rather than obey, he joined Azami in reciting the curse. Their combined voices continued, resonating and swelling. "Rise, thirteen legends of Kashwado's history. Take up sword and armor once more and repel the forces of darkness!" Trembling with anticipation, the crazed minister then added: "There can be no reconstruction without destruction. Honorable rulers of the past, now is the time to build a new nation... by force!" The swirling mist extended from Pyle's armor in all directions. Then, there was a sudden flash of light. When vision returned to your stunned group, you saw ghastly appendages pry open the coffins. A dark presence slowly built in the tense silence that followed, causing your grip to tighten around the sword's hilt. Finally, a beast-like roar tore through the air as new shadows loomed large in the mausoleum. "Father..." A mournful whisper left Queen Agamette's lips and a single tear trickled down her cheek. The previous king, her father, was one of the figures that now stood wearing the evil Soul Armor. "...Please forgive me!" As if trying to wipe away her tear with the wind, she dashed up to her father's phantom and swung her sword with all of her might. However, the armor deflected her blow with a shrill metallic echo, leaving only the fainted scratch. "Hahaha, fool! Not even Pyle's own weapons can damage the armor she made. Did you fail to realize that when you fought Lazuul?" Valdos laughed loudly as he rubbed the gauntlet of the warrior beside him. It seemed Azami's curse strengthened the armor's inherent sturdiness further. And the curse also trapped them in the same illusion as Lazuul. You were now seen as invaders, and they would fight to save their beloved country even if it had the opposite result. "Hero, look!" Elimval called out from behind and you turned to see Lazuul standing on the other side of the entrance. You were caught in a dire situation, trapped by legendary warriors in impregnable, evil armor. Yet in the next moment, you noticed another figure behind Lazuul running towards the mausoleum. "No, Saoirse! Get away from here!" Salvador raised his voice in warning, but the inventor did not stop. She had mastered Pyle's Lost Technique and held the fruit of her labor in hand -- a whip-like sword. It was a blade comprised of several linked sections that could extend and coil freely like a chain. Yet before she leapt at Lazuul, she gripped the edge with both hands and lashed the hilt at Lazuul's chest. "Please wake up!" Bearing the pain from her bloodied palms as best she could, she followed the strike with three more in rapid succession. Surprisingly, not only was Lazuul stunned by the attack, a small crack began to form in her armor. Saoirse's technology had improved Pyle's technique and granted her weapon the necessary advantage. The cracks continued to carve through the armor until the breastplate shattered completely, along with the illusion's hold over Lazuul. In a daze, her eyes moved from the unfamiliar woman spattered with her own blood collapsed on the ground, to her surroundings, then finally coming to rest upon the figures of legends past in the sinister armor. It was at that moment Kashwado's greatest warrior knew something was amiss. With an expression twisted with rage, she picked up Saoirse' weapon and spoke in a firm voice. "Who is the one with a death wish? Reveal yourself, you who would defile of my liege!" ..... Several days later, the skies of Kashwado were painted in brilliant azure. People, both refugees returning and workers rebuilding, milled amongst the ravaged structures. Although it would be some time before the city reclaimed its former appearance, the mood was quickly enlivening. Once Lazuul's spirit was freed from the curse, the crisis was soon resolved. She had used Saoirse's weapon to shatter the spirits' armor one by one, returning them to their peaceful slumber. Then, after helping you ensure Valdos and Azami paid for their deeds with their own lives, she also returned to her resting place. "Father, I promise to protect this land as long as I draw breath..." Queen Agamette, accompanied by Inel, knelt before the ruined mausoleum. "And I pray the Hero's journey will be illuminated with victory." Yet even as she beseeched the thirteen spirits to guide the Hero's group, she did not know there were only twelve caskets buried in the rubble. In fact, there had only ever been twelve. The thirteenth, holding her granduncle King Navani of three generations prior, was actually resting on a distant ocean floor. And no one had realized that a slight amount of Azami's miasma escaped through the doors, reached that far-flung coffin, and granted the spirit of Navani the Soul Armor... Chapters/Quests Raid Bosses Rewards Daily Ranking Half-Time Final Rankings Raid Boss Repels Guild Ranking Guild Repels Category:Raid Events Category:Malice Canon Category:The Soul Armor